About 35 paddlers saw bats as the sun set over Banks Lake.
![[Bobby McKenzie, WWALS Outings Committee Chair, this expedition leader]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-06-05--banks-lake-full-moon-pictures/20200605_194927.jpg)
Bobby McKenzie, WWALS Outings Committee Chair, this expedition leader
Thanks to WWALS Outings Committee Chair and Board Member Bobby McKenzie, for organizing and leading this outing.
The moon hid behind clouds, but some of us saw a little gator as we started out. I think Helen Crowley spotted it. Continue reading
The winner of Within These WWALS #6 is…
Emmy Kidder.
She wins a packet of WWALS photo notecards from that watershed, sent via postal mail from WWALS charter board member Bret Wagenhorst.
Here are the answers to Within These WWALS #6.
Name this native raptor that can dive into water and catch live fish, has white under its wings making it easier to identify from below, and builds its nests atop trees over bodies of water, like this one shown atop a cypress at dusk.
Osprey, Pandion haliaetus.
We paddle by this nest most every time on our Banks Lake Full Moon paddles. The next one is coming up Continue reading
Update 2020-06-19: Pictures.
Update 2020-06-18: Naylor Boat Ramp signs planted 2020-06-13.
Update 2020-06-12: Good to go, so see you there.
Join us for a one-mile paddle upstream and back from the newest boat ramp on the Alapaha River.
There’s plenty of room to stay six feet apart on the ground and ten feet apart on the water.
When: Gather 9:30 AM, launch 10 AM, Saturday, June 13, 2020
Put In:
Naylor Boat Ramp, 6955 US 84 E, Naylor, GA 31641, in Lowndes County, Georgia.
From Valdosta go east on US 84, cross the river, make a U-turn when you can,
go back west across the river and turn right into the park around the boat ramp.
There’s also a nice beach in the park a bit downstream from the boat ramp.
GPS: 30.92507, -83.03867
Take Out: Naylor Boat Ramp
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
![[Naylor Boat Ramp, 2020:03:06 16:35:28, 30.9253889, -83.0393611]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-06-13--naylor-outback/naylor-boat-ramp.jpg)
Photo: Tasha Ekman Laface, Naylor Boat Ramp, 2020:03:06 16:35:28, 30.9253889, -83.0393611
Update 2020-06-06: Gator and bats, sunset, no moon, at Banks Lake 2020-06-05.
Leisurely sunset paddle and watch the June Full Strawberry Moon rise over the lake.
No, there’s no curfew in Lanier County now (confirmed with the Lanier County Sheriff), and since there’s no shuttle on this outing, we can all stay 6 feet apart on land 10 feet apart on the water.
Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge is in the Grand Bay–Banks Lake ecosystem. We usually see birds, bats and alligators. Sunsets are usually spectacular, and the full moon over the tree tops reflected in the lake is a sight to see.
When: Gather 7:30 PM, launch 7:50 PM, Friday, June 5, 2020
Moon and sun: Sunset 8:33 PM, Moonrise 8:41 PM
Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County.
Take Out: Banks Lake Boat Ramp
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.
Boats: Kayaks are available to borrow but please let us know at least 2 days prior to the event. Bring your own if you have it.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members, optional during this virus pandemic period. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
![[Sunset behind cypress]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-02-09--banks-lake-full-moon/84974452_3003771476301701_8109062030540931072_o.jpg)
Sunset behind cypress
on Banks Lake Full Storm Moon Paddle 2020-02-09.
About thirty paddlers made it upstream to Stone Bridge and back, although few people could paddle up the current under it.
![[Helen Chaney: Suwannee Riverkeeper under Stone Bridge]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-05-16--stone-bridge-paddle/98282704_717724335669695_2747634499310321664_n.jpg)
Photo: Helen Chaney, Suwannee Riverkeeper under Stone Bridge
Starting out at Cook County Boat Ramp, there was plenty of room for everybody to stay six feet apart on land and ten feet apart on water. Continue reading
Update 2020-05-30: The winner.
Many of you saw many of these things just a few days ago, or saw pictures of them taken by those who were there.
So you can answer Within These WWALS #6, using this form:
https://forms.gle/BQgTiRRThpBgWLZN8
Please answer by midnight at the end of Saturday, May 16, 2020.
Please identify (by scientific or common name) each of the items highlighted in a set of photos and then come up with the name of the WWALS waterway where all the photos were taken. The first correct set of answers wins a packet of WWALS photo notecards from that watershed, sent via postal mail from WWALS charter board member Bret Wagenhorst.
-jsq, John S. Quarterman, Suwannee RIVERKEEPER®
You can join this fun and work by becoming a WWALS member today!
Leisurely sunset paddle and watch the May Full Flower Moon rise over the lake.
No, there’s no curfew in Lanier County now (confirmed with the Lanier County Sheriff), and since there’s no shuttle on this outing, we can all stay six feet apart on l and 10 feet apart on the water.
Banks Lake National Wildlife Refuge is in the Grand Bay–Banks Lake ecosystem. We usually see birds, bats and alligators. Sunsets are usually spectacular, and the full moon over the tree tops reflected in the lake is a sight to see.
When: Gather 7:30 PM, launch 7:50 PM, Thursday, May 7, 2020
Moon and sun: Sunset 8:16 PM, Moonrise 8:46 PM
Put In: Banks Lake Boat Ramp, 307 Georgia 122, Lakeland, GA 31635, in Lanier County.
Take Out: Banks Lake Boat Ramp
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup.
Boats: Kayaks are available to borrow but please let us know at least 2 days prior to the event. Bring your own if you have it.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members, optional during this virus pandemic period. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
![[Moonrise cypress arc (MM)]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-02-09--banks-lake-full-moon/86267330_10217939016599321_2707161953033256960_o.jpg)
Photo: Monica McKenzie, Moonrise cypress arc (MM),
2020-02-09.
Update 2020-04-24: OK quality mid-week, but much rain yesterday, Withlacoochee River 2020-04-22.
WWALS Testing Committee Chair Suzy Hall got 300 cfu/100 mL E. coli at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp Saturday, and 333 at Nankin Boat Ramp, both on the Withlacoochee River. That’s similar to Thursday at Knights Ferry, and better at Nankin; both not good, but not terrible. See also What do these numbers mean?
But watch out: it rained a quarter inch in Brooks County, Georgia, Sunday. WWALS continues testing and correlating results from various sources with rainfall.
You can help by donating for water quality collection supplies. Even those metal yellow Caution signs cost money. See below for those signs going up during the livestreamed virtual Earth Day cleanup at Knights Ferry Boat Ramp.
![[Boaters, Suzy, signs, trash, Bobby]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-04-18--wq/jsq-20200418_091557.jpg)
Boaters, Suzy, signs, trash, Bobby
There were a bunch of boaters, all keeping their distance. They were already aware of the contamination, but did not plan to get in the river water.
Apparently most of the previous contamination had washed down the river, but how far? Continue reading
Update 2020-05-26: Pictures: Stone Bridge paddle from Cook County Boat Ramp (GA 76) 2020-05-16.
Update 2020-05-21: Three Little River Landings in Swim Guide 2020-05-21
Update 2020-05-20: Clean weekend 2020-05-17.
Changed to put in at Cook County Boat Ramp on GA 76 and paddle upstream past Stone Bridge, and then back. This avoids the outings problem during the stay-home period of the novel coronavirus pandemic: no shuttle, so no crowding together. Yes, boating is not just permitted, it is encouraged by the state of Georgia; see Florida and Georgia Boat Ramps Status 2020-04-09. To keep it that way, everyone please remember to stay 6 feet apart on land and 10 feet apart on the water.
This is a leisurely paddle on a very seldom-paddled stretch of wild south Georgia blackwater river, the Little River, between Adel and Barney.
When: Gather 9:30 AM, launch 10 AM, Saturday, May 16, 2020
Put In:
Cook County Boat Ramp,
Mile 31.41. 966 Quitman Highway (GA 76), Adel, GA 31620, in Cook County.
Between Adel and Barney, southeast side of GA 76, northeast side (left bank) of Little River, gravel ramp. Also known as Cook County Landing (GDOT).
Left or right bank means when facing downstream.
Landmark 1: Stone Bridge, 31.04962, -83.49932, Mile 32.36, about a mile upstream from Cook County Boat Ramp.
Take Out: Same as Put In.
Bring: the usual personal flotation device, boat paddles, food, drinking water, warm clothes, and first aid kit. Also trash pickers and trash bags: every WWALS outing is also a cleanup. These days, a facemask would not be amiss.
Free: This outing is free to WWALS members, and $10 (ten dollars) for non-members. We recommend you support the work of WWALS by becoming a WWALS member today!
Photo: Burt Kornegay, March 2018, of
Stone Bridge over Little River, SW of Adel, GA.
More about Stone Bridge, including more pictures:
Stone Bridge, Little River, by Dan Phillips 2016-08-01.
Duration: 2 hours (depending on how far upstream we go)
Shuttle: None, so no crowding together.
Landmark 2: Continue reading
Shelby Miller did facebook livestream from Banks Lake last night.
In this still, you can see Bobby McKenzie in the raffle kayak, Continue reading
![[Bird, flower, org, base]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-05-13--quiz6/square.jpg)
![[Bobby staying dry]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2020-04-09--banks-lake-full-moon-livestream/bobby-staying-dry.jpg)